A Resource Bulletin for Teachers of English, Grade Eleven
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 042 775 TE 002 022 TITLE A ResouLce Bulletin for Teachers of English, Grade Eleven. INSTITUTION Baltimore County Public Schools, Towson, Md. PUB DATE Jan 70 NOTE 272p. AVAILABLE FROM board of Education of Baltimore Co., Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction, Baltimore, Maryland 21204 ($5.00) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF$1.25 HC-$13.70 DESCRIPTORS American Culture, *American Literature, Class Activities, Composition Skills (Literary), *Curriculum Guides, Elcational Objectives, English Instruction, Filns, Film Study, Language Instruction, *literary History, Literature Appreciation, Oral Communication, *Social Values, Teaching Techniques, *Thematic Approach ABSTRACT Beginning with a look at contemporary American materials (both literary and non-liteiary) ,this 11th-grade curriculum guide proceeds with a chronological, thematic approach to American literature, focusing on such units as "The First Frontier--Establishment of the American Dream," "The American Dream on Trial,4 "The Dream and Reality," and "Towa.i New Freedoms." Each unit, integrating oral and written composition .end the study of language with its literary content, suggests scope and time allotments; objectives; ways of adapting materials to various class levels; detailed activities--long range, initiatory, developmental, and synthesizing; and related films. Also providedare a resource guide for teachers and above average students, a listing of highly recommended American films, film rental sources, and two special film units--one for "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," and the other for "The Grapes of Wrath." (MI) PIPU11t1101 111A111. tb1(001 Mitt MK( Of (10(11101 1111110011111 IUI SIt1 1(111001X11 (UM AS HM11111011 T1 111101 01 01610/11101 01161111110 1T./0111101 1/1W 0101'111015 St1111 10 101 MIKAN! 59111111 011K1 Of 111,011011 102001 01 5U1. BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ti N. A RESOURCE BULLETIN FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH O GRADE ELEVEN Workshop Committee 1968, 1969: Jeannette Kuhlman, Chairman 1968: Eleanor Carson Joy C. Kyne Joseph C. Terry Prepa Ted wider the direction of Jean C. Sisk, Coordinator, Office of English Mary C. Roger.. Supervisor of English George L, Bennett, Supervisor of English Jerome Davis, Assistant Superintendent in Instruction (if Benjamin P. Ebersole, Director of Curriculum and Instructional Services Mary Ellen Saterlie, Coordinator, Office of Curriculum Development 0 Katherine Klier, Consultant, Office of Curriculum Development r William S. Sartorius, Superintendent Towson, Maryland 21204 1970 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF BALTIMORE COUNTY Towson, Maryland 21204 T. Bayard Williams, jr. President Mrs. John M. Crocker Alvin Loreck Vice President H. Emile Parks Mrs. Robert L. Berney Richard W. Tracey, D. V. M. Eugene C. Hess Mrs. Richard K. Wuerfel H. Russell Knust William S. Sartorius SecretaryTreseurer and Superintendent of Schools 1110111111Ww- FOREWORD Focusing on the literature of the United States throughout the entire English 11 course, as is the practice in the Baltimore County schools, offers manifold challenges. Teachers of English 11 have been asking such questions as these: How can we give students a sense of chronology and the exciting development and change in American thinking and literary art and still eschew the traditional "survey" course? How can we emphasize literature of particular relevance to the concerns of youth and of contemporary society at large and at the same time foster appreciation of those significant areas of the American literary heritage that reflect attitudes and modes of life of a past era?How can we use American lit- erature to give students the perspective they so urgently need to view our nation's successes and failures in pursuing the "American dream"? How can we arouse interest in the role of the artist in the various media of communication-- the poet, the story-teller, the filmmaker, the playwrieht, the essayist, the journalist, the cartoonist, the recording artist, the interpreter of other men's words? H.11; can we, in our day-to-day and week-to-week instruction, integrate the improvement of composition and language skills with the study of American literature in a way that will have relevance tc our students' needs and creative and vocational bents? The teachers and supervisors working in the summer curriculum workshops of 1968 and 1969 have designed a new course for eleventh grade English which should help teachers meet these challenges. Although certain approaches recommended in the earlier course of study and found successful have been retained -- such as beginning the year with a look at contemporary literature and maintaining a loose chronology in subsequent units -- the plan of organization of the revised course is essentially a new one. The initial unit examines some of the major concerns of modern America as currently reflected in the mass media and in certain short works of literature.These are further explored in the following units which combine a historical and a thematic approach in a study of the way American literature hasexpressed the ideal in the search for man's freedoms and has reacted to man's imperfect realization of this ideal.The units provide for composition and language instruction related directly or indirectly to the literature content of the units. A number of the recommended procedures and activities are based on innova- tive ideas; however, further modification and refinement of this course will undoubtedly be desirable.Therefore, this guide should be regarded as tentative, and teachers are urged to be alert to revisions that can bs made in the near future. The Board of Education and the Superintendent extend their appreciation to the members of the curriculum committee who worked with concentration and dedication to produce this guide during their workshops. William S. Sartorius Superintendent of Schools Towson, MAryland January 1970 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE OOOOO OOOOOOOO tTdIT ONEt AMERICA NOW 1 UNIT Two THE FIRST FRONTIER -- ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM . t 11 OOOOOO 35 UNIT THREE t THE AMERICAN DREAM ON TRIAL 60 UNIT FOt1 THE SECOND FRONTIER THE RE -ESTABLISHM3NT OF THE DREAMS OOOOO 107 UNIT FIVEt THE DREAM AND THE REALITY it 0 0 0 lb 136 UNIT SIX! TOWARD NEU FRMDOIC 6 180 A SELECTIVE WIDE TO RESOURCES FOR THt STUDY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE FOR TEACHERS AND/OR PUPILS OF ABOVE-AVERAGE ABILITY 6 233 APPENDICES ABBREVIATING CODE FOR MAJOR ANTHOLOGIES OOOOO As1 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED A M E R I C A N FILMS . O . A.4 FILM RDITAL SOURCES ottoolloo.siatleoss FILM STUDY GUIDES "AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL ChEEK BRIDGE" A-8 FILM STUDY OUtLEt THE ORATES OF WRATH 6 . A4 INTRCOUOTION TO THE 00titSE Bac Course This ouriioulum guide is the third eleventh grade course of study Written during the pagt twenty years. It is not, in any sense, a "revision" of either precediniprogram, however. The 1949 course was organised by themes; the 1953 course stressed the regionalism of American literature. The present course uses American literature as its base, but attempts something much more ambitious than either of ita prod.:moors; that is, the combination of a ohronologioal with a thematio approsoh to the literature and, in addition) the complete in- tegration of oral and written oomposition and the study of language with the rest of the program. , The chronological approach to the teaching of American literature has been avoided in the past decade or two) and rightly so. At a time when we are all trying to enlist the interests of teenagers, to help them to cultivate the of reading and viewing as life-long habits, it seems patently apparent a ing a year's study of American literature with the dryest) most dif- ficult, and often most irrelevant materials -- merely because the diaries, essays, end letters that 000ur in our seventeenth century literature happen to come first, historically speaking -- in asking for defeat before we begin. And yet) we realise that there is literally no other course in the secondary school English program that provides the opportunity for a pupil to view an entire corpus of literature, to understand what contemporary authors owe to the past, to trace the prevalence of certain ideas and concerns that occur over and over in our literature. the present course begins with a unit of contemporary meteriale, many if not most of them 'ton- literary."In this unit the central themes of American literature are established. The other five units then develop the themes chronologically, relatng contemporary materials where obvious connections between authors or stibpot matter exist. It is hoped that the combination of traditional and contemporary literature in each unit) the use of media related to literature but not "verbal" completely, and the wealth of supplementary activities and materials for classes of different interests and abilities will help make this present course truly valuable for both pupils and teachers. Qve, riew,of the Program Before beginning to teach any course for the first time, the teacher should knovrthe general outlines of the entire course, should make up his mind as to the major objectives for his various °W ow, should have made some tentative deoisions about the long works the novels and plays especially that he will suggest for each class or grolp within a class. It is impossible to make daily plAns with any kind of coherent increment of progress vithout considering the long-range plan for an entire unit] it is just as difficult to project unit plans without an acquaintance with a whole course, There are also practical matters that make each eleventh grade teacher's survey of the year's work necessary matters having to do with the chairman': plans to have supplemental sets of *Aerials shared among a number of teachers, matters of deciding with other teachers as to the most convenient time to request or to secure films, i filmstrips, recordings and other aids so frequently mentioned throughout the 'units of this course and so integrally related to the literature.